NAME:____________________

DATE: ____________________
PERIOD: __________________

MESOPOTAMIA: THE CRADLE OF

CIVILIZATION
ON THE MAP, LABEL THE FOLLOWING:
TIGRIS RIVER, EUPHRATES RIVER, THE FERTILE CRESCENT, URUK, BABYLON

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE PEOPLE OF THE “LAND BETWEEN RIVERS”

CALLED THEMSELVES?
DEFINE THESE TERMS: (IN YOUR OWN WORDS)
SUMER

TERRITORIAL CITY-STATE

SURPLUS

NOMADS

POLYTHEISM

ZIGGURAT

SPECIALIZATION

SCRIBES

CUNEIFORM

EPICS

CODES

WHAT WAS THE MESOPOTAMIAN VIEW OF NATURE?

ORGANIZE THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY (THE TOP OF THE ZIGGURAT HAVING

THE ​MOST​​ AUTHORITY, THE BOTTOM HAVING THE ​LEAST​​ AUTHORITY).

CHOICES​​:

- PRIESTS
- SCRIBES
- SLAVES
- KING
- MERCHANTS
- FARMERS
- CRAFTSMAN
LOOK AT THE COMPLETED HIERARCHY, WHY DO YOU THINK THOSE AT
THE TOP ARE AT THE TOP, WHILE THOSE AT THE BOTTOM ARE AT THE
BOTTOM?

WHICH CLASSES OF PEOPLE DO YOU THINK WERE “EDUCATED”? WHY?

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS INVENTED BY THE SUMERIANS?

GILGAMESH IS REMEMBERED AS BEING A KIND OF DEMIGOD (HALF GOD,

HALF HUMAN). CAN YOU THINK OF ANY REASON WHY PEOPLE BELIEVED
HIM TO BE SUPERNATURALLY STRONG?
CHOOSE ​THREE ​OF HAMMURABI’S CODES AND ​THREE ​LAWS (RULES) FROM
TODAY; ORGANIZE THEM ONTO THE VENN DIAGRAM. THEN, TRY AND FIND
WAYS IN WHICH THEY ARE ​SIMILAR​​.